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The Good Samaritan - Kids at home Sunday 3rd May

Today, we are going to remember how KIND and LOVING God is and learn about how God wants us to be kind to ALL people no matter what!

Jesus tells us to love God with our whole hearts AND to love everyone around us too! He asks us to help everyone, like He always helps us! Sometimes, we find it hard to know how to be like Jesus and how to love everyone. Sometimes there are people that we find it hard to get along with or be friends with. Sometimes we don’t want to give up our time or our things to help others. But Jesus helps teach us, with the story we are going to look at today and other stories in the Bible, how we can treat everyone like our neighbour and our friend!

Worship

Let’s start with some worship! Feel free to sing and dance or just watch and listen, Jesus doesn’t mind HOW we worship, He just loves it when we spend time with Him and sing His praises!

You are Good– Bethel Kids

Alive – Hillsong Young and Free

Good Good Father – Chapelhill Kids

Story time

The Good Samaritan – Saddleback Kids!

Some important points to remember from the story…

  • Jesus teaches us to love God and our neighbours with all of our hearts!
  • The Samaritan man in the story had a big heart and loved someone who he didn’t usually get along very well with. He still helped the man who was in need and was very kind!
  • Even though the Samaritan man might not have had a lot of time or money or things, he was still generous to the man and shared with him all he had!
  • The Samaritan made sure that he had done EVERYTHING he could to help the man!
  • Jesus reminds us in this story that anyone and everyone is your neighbour no matter what, and so we should have love and kindness in our hearts for everyone that we meet. Just like Jesus does!

Some things to talk to your family about…

  • Why do you think the people who were meant to be kind left the man at the side of the road?  Maybe they wanted to be somewhere else and they didn’t want to give up their time? Maybe they didn’t want to give the man any of their things? What do you think?
  • Who should those people have listened to and followed? What should they have done do you think?
  • How do you think the man felt when he first saw the Samaritan? Do you think he think he thought he would help him? How do you think he felt after he was helped by him?
  • How was the Samaritan man a good neighbour to the man who was hurt? Why? Was he doing something Jesus would have done?
  • Has there ever been a time in your life when you haven’t helped someone, or not wanted to help someone because you wanted to do other more fun things? Or because you didn’t particularly like or get on with the person who needed you? Maybe someone who was on another team to you in a game? Maybe someone who had been unkind or a bit annoying in the past? What could you do in that situation if it happens again do you think? Could we ask Jesus to help us help others do you think?

Memory Verse

“Love each other, as I have loved you!” John 15:12

Isn’t this a wonderful verse? And isn’t the story we heard today amazing, too? Jesus tells us to love God with our whole hearts AND to love everyone around us too! Jesus asks us to be kind and caring to everyone that we meet, especially those that might need our help. He asks us to help everyone, like He always helps us! He tells us to love each other like He loves us! Which is VERY much!!

If you like, why not have go at making a ‘Kindness Chatterbox’. This might help you to think of and remember some ways that you can love others and show them kindness and helpfulness. You could write different things under each flap. Here are some ideas of things that you could write but you can also make up your own ones if you like! 

  • Tell someone a joke
  • Tell someone something that you love about them
  • Give someone a high five
  • Share a toy 
  • Ask someone if they need help with anything (e.g. your parents!)
  • Sing a song to someone or with someone
  • Let someone else go first e.g. in a game!
  • Offer to pray for someone
  • Give someone a hug!

Note to families: Here is a video of how to make a chatterbox if you aren’t sure! You just need a piece of paper, some scissors and colouring pens/pencils. You may want to encourage children to draw hearts instead of spots (or whatever they’d like!)

Prayer time

Remember that the Lord is our helper and He will help us love everyone and show us how to be a good neighbour and friend to those who need it the most. Is there anyone that you find it hard to be a friend to? Is there anyone who is a wonderful and kind friend to you that you would like to be thankful for? Do you want to let God into your heart to help you serve all of your neighbours wherever you might find them? 

Dear God, 

Thank you that you teach us how to be a kind neighbour and friend. Thank you that you encourage us to help one another and give us the love and kindness that makes this possible. Thank you that you made every one of us like you so that we can love and help people like you love and help us. Thank you for all of those people who have loved and helped us in the past and help us to be kind and good neighbours to not just our friends but to everyone that we meet. Amen!

Now might also be a good time to use the prayer boards that you and your families created last week, why don’t you think of a prayer for each envelope? Or, if you didn’t get chance to make your prayer board last week, why not give it a go this week as a family? 

Craft time

There a few different options for crafts today so you can choose whatever you like or have a go at all of them! The main thing to remember as we make these crafts is that Jesus tells us to love God with our whole hearts AND to love everyone around us too! Jesus asks us to be kind and caring to everyone that we meet, especially those that might need our help. He asks us to help everyone, like He always helps us! 

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and, Love your neighbour as yourself! Luke 10:27

Helping hand!

Make a ‘helping hand’ 

Draw around your hand and cut it out. Can you think of 5 different people that you could be a good neighbour/friend to? Maybe your parents? Your brother or sister? Your friends? People at church? You can decorate the hand however you’d like, maybe you could draw something on it, stick things to it or write the memory verse from today on it.

Challenge – Can you think of something kind you could do for that person? Maybe you could think of something you’d like to tell them or something that you could do when you see them again? Maybe you could send them a message with a picture afterwards to tell them how much you love them!

Materials needed: 

  • Card/paper
  • Pens/pencils
  • Scissors
  • (Your hand!)

Optional:

  • Gems
  • Stickers
  • Tin foil/tissue paper
  • Any decorative craft bits!

Note to families:

The Bible App for kids is another good resource to use at home with your children if you’d like. You’ll find animated bible stories, as well as different activities related to each story that the children may be able to complete or themselves or that you can complete all together as a family. https://bibleappforkids.com/